


I Can Teach You

by Verisimilitude (Wolfy_Tales)



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternative Universe - (American) College, F/M, Professor!Kylo, Student!Rey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 15:14:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5591104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfy_Tales/pseuds/Verisimilitude
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey needed to fulfill a humanities requirement. Clearly Professor Ren needed to fulfill a torture requirement from the dark lord himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Can Teach You

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars.

 

 

_A Reylo one-shot where Rey rejects Kylo's offer to be his advisee, only to become so much more._

 

 

 

Rey had only been enrolled for half a trimester, and already it felt like home.

Granted, she'd never had a home to actually compare it to, but this is the feeling she thought Tolkien tried to emanate in the Shire. Of Rowling expressing that unmistakable feeling of _right_ through Hogwarts.

And just like Harry Potter, Rey's found herself two steadfast friends to align herself with. Finn was the first person she'd met the night before orientation traditionally began; Poe obviously was popular enough to know everyone, and strangely wanted to hang out with two orphans.

Poe was already in his junior year, and even then he was older by a good margin from having just left the Air force after getting into a nasty crash that had left his hands shaking a tad too much. He'd gone to college to air his head and nerves, and found that he wasn't interested in education as much as music.

Finn was clearly besotted, and Rey had to smile and nudge at him whenever the giggles overcame her at the idea of them finally getting together.

Still, it meant Poe had good advice from being here longer. And his constant reminders were: get ready to never have enough sleep and to get your requirements out of the way when you have time and youthful vigor.

Rey had her heart on engineering, which got rid of all math and science requirements. But it left her vulnerable to a humanities: courses she'd never been good at as she lacked open expression. As Poe argued, it would be good to get it out of the way.

.

Only, the problem was deciding what to suffer through. Fine art was out of the question, as was theatre. She'd never been good with words like she was with numbers and equations. English would be grueling in trying to dissect words, and then make her own artful prose.

Which meant, with her schedule permitting and class choice being a lowly freshman, that she had a choice between two history classes. One was on violence in the middle ages, the other on the rise of suburbia in America. She chose the former, because it actually sounded somewhat exciting.

When she showed her schedule to Finn and Poe, the former nodded while the other turned his handsome face into a crushing grimace.

"Why did you decide to subjugate yourself to the will of Professor Ren?"

"For history?" Rey asked lightly.

"He's a new professor- this year is his first like you guys. But already he has a reputation for his strict standards. And apparently throwing chairs and breaking furniture."

Rey paled, but Finn rallied to her rescue by saying: "Don't worry Rey! Everyone eventually loves you."

.

Rey felt that maybe she should've waited a bit more at the cafe. It was one thing to be early to your first class, but another entirely to arrive twenty-two minutes before the time of gathering.

Still, it was good to be there first to grab a seat in the very front. Their college was a small, growing one, meaning the classes were tiny and seats limited. Rey had learned through her first trimester here that where you sat your first day usually dictated the rest of your time in the class.

At the sound of the door slamming open, Rey jolted and nearly stabbed her hand with the pen she'd been twirling.

The figure was swathed in a long, black coat with the hood up and covering their face. They were tall, and broad in the shoulders- and when they turned they flicked the hood back to reveal a long, pale face. There was red under his eyes, his hair disheveled as well. He looked like an average, stressed senior. Maybe a tad older, like how Poe was.

Except he moved to the desk without a glance to her, strides long and sure, and he threw down his bag with as much force as he'd opened the door.

He sat down in the desk, and still without looking at her, trained his eyes to the clock above her head. Rey refused to squirm, and looked at her wrist-watch to check the time. There was still twenty minutes until the start of the class.

So she sat in silence with only the professor for thirteen more minutes. Then, blessedly, two people came in and the trickle of students began. Rey counted the class up to thirteen when the man stood with a flourish of his black coat and closed the door.

The lock twisted slowly, and connected with an ominous click. Not twenty seconds later there was a pounding on the door: students who were late and wanting to get in.

"You may call me Professor Ren and nothing else."

.

There's two hundred pages of reading the first day, and unlike everyone in the class, Rey didn't read the book (they were apparently supposed to) in advance. Which means she needed to read seven hundred pages in the next day and a half. Thankfully it was a Monday, which meant she had time away from Poe's incessant social life he dragged her into.

She took notes along with reading, because Rey was anything but throughout. She reviewed those notes before class on Wednesday, and then skimmed through some of the more important passages she remembered reading. Reading had always been calming for her: only twenty-six letters, and worlds she'd never imagined would flow out for her head to imagine. The history text was a bit more dull, with more heavy words to look the definitions up, but Rey was always stubbornly lethal in any assignment given. Even more-so if it wasn't in her direct strengths.

According to the syllabus, class participation is a weak five percent, and Rey almost thought Professor Ren was doing that on purpose. To make it insignificant enough that people think about what they say before spouting off nonsense.

It helped Rey, who was never one to raise her hand to personally bring up a point unless she had a strong opinion on it. On the next class she kept it down the entire time, usually along with her head to take notes, and especially when Professor Ren honest-to-goodness _bitched out_ a boy who'd incorrectly connected two unrelating segments of the reading.

(The boy barely made it to the hallway after class before leaning against the wall and crying. Rey had cautiously approached, patting his shoulder and trying to offer encouragements.)

The next few classes weren't any better, and got a tad worse. Six people decided to drop the class, which cut the class number down to eight. Rey still sat in the front row: the only one who dared it considering how Professor Ren could raise his voice.

Their first essay assignment came and Rey struggled over the simplistic prompt, to make sure she answered the straightforward question while still giving it substance and creativity. She got it back and nearly dropped dead at the C+ that her eyes met.

"That's amazing, Rey," Poe said in glee, looking over the numerous red marks Professor Ren had marked her paper with. "And he left you helpful comments. People usually get a resounding F for Fuck Off with their first paper."

Despite Poe's warm words of encouragement, and Poe reading it through twice with nothing to say but kind words, Rey sighed and decided to work harder.

.

It took all of Rey's courage to approach Professor Ren as he gathered his papers and books by simply jamming them into his messenger bag.

"Professor Ren?"

The man looked up, and then stood to his full height. He crossed his arms behind his back, and Rey refused to back down at his impressive height or raised eyebrow.

"When are your office hours? It wasn't listed on the syllabus, or outside your office."

He really shouldn't look that intimidating; she'd looked him up. He was only twenty-nine, only ten years older than her, but then again. He'd traveled the world for his PhD, and she had been stuck in a rundown, dried out town before nicking a scholarship to here. It wasn't only that she had to look up to him in a literal sense.

"Miss Rey," he said, voice deep and calm unlike his usual rants in class. "No one has even enquired, so I never bothered."

Rey fidgeted, and waited for him to say more, so she prompted again with: "I am now."

He raised his other eyebrow to join its sibling high on his forehead, and Rey could almost imagine the ghost of a smile on his face before he turned away back to his bag.

"I'm in my office every morning before class. Come at your leisure."

.

It was one thing to sit front row in Professor Ren's classes; it was another thing entirely to sit across from him in his private office. Unlike his simplistic outfits of all black, from the oxfords to the three-piece suits to the glossy silk ties, the small room was a clutter of books. Of cacti that looked happy to be at the sun drenched windowsill and posters showing medieval art.

At first he hadn't heard Rey knock, and so she'd cleared her throat. That hadn't worked as well, so when she finally called out his name, his neck snapped up with an audible crack before a grimace made itself known on his face.

He waved her in with one hand while the other went to his neck, and Rey tried not to slump too much in the seat from shame. It was already turning out disastrous.

"Alright, what is it? I have other things to do."

Rey brought out her notebook at the nearest text they were reading; it was about witchcraft, and she was enjoying it despite its grisly nature. She babbled out questions, skimming through her notes for when she's put a star next to a questionable interpretation of hers.

Professor Ren's voice was pitched low, quieter than when he spoke to the students as a whole. He often took long moments of pause, rubbing a hand through his hair or along his bottom lip. Rey supposed he did it absently, his body on autopilot as his mind raced ahead, but it was still distracting.

She ended up staying forty minutes, and then decided that was enough. If not for her, but by the way he glanced at the clock and gave a frown.

"Thank you for your time," Rey said, zipping up her bag and slinging it against her hip.

She looked up, expecting a response, but only got a dead-stare and a nod. Rey took it as enough incentive to give a nod of her own before bolting.

.

It became an odd ritual, Rey going to see Professor Ren at nine in the morning ever Monday and Friday. She didn't dare go Wednesdays, mostly because she felt like she ate enough of his time already. For the month she'd already been in his class, the red and bags under his eyes had failed to go away.

Sure, his hair was always pristine, and his pants were always ironed perfectly, which annoyed the ever-living shit out of Rey with her crumpled clothes, but there was always something off with him. Like he didn't need to only sleep eight hours. That he needed to figure out something deeper past a good sleep schedule.

But Rey was just a freshman with a dream to get things done, and to pass this class in a way that wouldn't hinder her future summa cum laude status. After that first (disastrous, no matter what Poe argued) paper, Rey managed to squeak by on a B. Then it was an B+, and it felt even worse than that average B or even dreaded C+. Which was coincidentally the worst grade she'd ever received.

Thankfully the papers worked that each one was worth more of her grade. The first was only five percent, the second ten, the third fifteen. The fourth would be a cool twenty five, while the last paper, which was considered their final, was worth an intimidating forty percent of their grade.

There were massive restrictions, and Rey began muddling through the hell that was footnotes and proper citation. Thankfully Professor Ren didn't seem all that angry about her questions on formality; if anything he looked relieved that someone was actually taking the time to ask and learn instead of assuming.

Rey got her fourth paper back and saw the bright red 'A-' that stood out, and noted how there were less notes in the margin signaling annoyance, she felt like scaling to the top of the roof and yelling to the stars of how happy she was.

Still: she wasn't out of the woods yet with the Major Paper coming up. There was more time to write and edit than with the papers before, but the word count was triple, along with the necessary amount of sources.

But Rey felt enlightened than anything, and wondered if it would be too much to frame the 'A-' and put it above her bed as a form of motivation.

.

Poe and Finns said she was going to run herself into the ground, attempting to make these miracles work when there was nothing she could truly do. It was rare enough to get high A's in college enough as it was. Apparently Rey was the first to crack Professor Ren actually giving out something above a B. It should be celebration in itself.

But Rey was suddenly insatiable in wanting to prove herself to someone so distant and ruthless. To actually feel herself overcoming his obstacles, his jabs at her stiff writing and strong opinions.

She followed in Poe's advice of barely catching enough sleep, and Rey was nearly scared stiff when she saw herself getting two A-'s instead of A's in other classes. She decided to fill the void with coffee.

Sure, it wasn't the best for her shaking hands, but she no longer had engines or creations to tweak and figure. Now it was all paperwork, and so what if her fingers shook a little from caffeine overload. Finn usually had the morning shift anyways, so it was easy enough to get him to fill her a mug for free.

Days and weeks passed, and Rey found herself more often in the library than meeting new people. But she had two friends, and that was plural and plenty. At least Poe and Finn were a tad too busy trying to figure the other's feelings out to worry over Rey.

It meant the trimester came to an end, and Rey handed in her paper with something akin to pride even if her smile probably made it seem she was about to vomit instead of celebrate. Thankfully she was able to drop it off to Professor Ren's mailbox instead of hand it in personally. She definitely would've vomited then.

.

It was nice to have some time off, but it was more than a tad unpleasant in the loneliness of the empty campus.

Rey had no one to see at her hometown other than faces she'd rather forget, and it wasn't like she even had the money. With focusing in school, she only worked Sundays in the kitchens doing dishes.

Finn, who she had thought to count on to keep her company over the break, had decided to spend the holidays with Poe. It was sweet, how fast an attraction they had, and Rey only wished nothing bad would happen in their rush to understand the other.

But they were both grown-up puppies. They could handle themselves.

Rey spent most of her time going over text for her next trimester's classes. People spoke of how unusually balmy Winter was this year. Rey had nothing but thanks for it, as it allowing her the luxury of not slipping on black ice every time she braved the outdoors for her daily run.

Today had seemed like any other, with her jogging through campus as her cool-down before stretching it out in the gym. She enjoyed cardio more than anything else, but she'd been slacking on weights and boxing lately. She should find a sparing partner; maybe Poe would be up for it.

Her eyes slid over a group of three, and then retracted back to it, because oh my gosh-golly- _God_ , there was Professor Ren with an elderly couple. Whose face he resembled enough to not be sheer coincidence.

Rey came to a stop, air coming out in crystalized puffs, and her past professor turned to her with a look before looking actually scared. He increased the pace of his walk, and ushered the two others into the history building.

.

Rey got an email two days later from Professor Ren. There was no subject heading, which was ominous enough, and the entire body of the text was: 'Meet me at my office. Tomorrow morning. 8AM.'

He hadn't even signed off, or acknowledged that it was addressed to Rey. Regardless, she pushed her morning run to the afternoon. She rolled out of bed wishing she was doing the usual grueling six miles instead of meeting the intimidating man.

His office seemed a bit tidier than last she'd visited, and Rey confirmed again that those definitely were his parents. It would seem like something a loving mother would do: not wanting her son to get crushed under textbooks.

He oddly enough stood from his seat before motioning her forward, and Rey pulled at her raggedy sweater before realizing that Professor Ren, too, was wearing a sweater. It looked like soft cashmere, and it was black like everything else, but it wasn't a suit. For some reason she found endless comfort in that.

"I noted that you haven't picked an advisor. I have the form for you here, so that I may help you."

Rey sat there, and suddenly the fact that he was wearing a relatable sweater meant nothing. Because despite how challenging and satisfying this class had been, Rey was still set on becoming an engineer to maybe become a pilot one day. She had no true desire to switch to history.

"Thank you, Professor Ren," she said, crossing and gripping her fingers together in her lap. "But I took your class solely for my humanities requirement. I have no intention of continuing with the department, or further classes."

There was a heartbreaking moment where Rey was sure her heart had stopped. When she looked up to see his reaction, she was surprised at the wide eyes and surprise.

"But _I could teach you_."

"Thank you, but I humbly decline."

He stood again, and unlike before, there was nothing polite in his stance or gaze on her. Rey stood as well, but not as sudden and drastic as to make her chair scratch on the wooden floor like his.

Professor Ren glared at her. Rey looked back.

She didn't dare blink for a good twenty seconds in their deadly battle before she felt a jolt to her system, turned tail, and briskly walked out of Professor Ren's office.

She was barely at the end of the hall when she heard crashes from his office. So much for it being tidy.

.

Rey's third trimester as a freshman passed somewhat uneventfully. At times it was rough, what with deciding to overload. Considering the amount of effort she'd needed for Professor Ren's class, it'd been boring with only three classes of moderate work. She'd added a forth, and then joined the kick-boxing club.

Nearly all of her classes were math related, although thankfully there was one based around working in a shop. It gave her the physicality she'd missed in her other entry-level courses.

At times she missed the challenges of writing essays about facts instead of dead-set methods. History was rigid at times with information, but then entirely fluid with interpretation of said facts. It made Rey's binary-made mind a little dizzy at times with the possibilities.

She still saw Professor Ren at times, mostly walking to the history building, or picking up the largest size of black coffee available at the cafe. Because of course he would take it black to match the rest of his outfit, and overall outlook on life and importance of personality. Yet he used a reusable tumbler, and Rey found that funny and sweet. Even the rude cared about the environment.

Once she foolishly allowed herself to be caught staring as he exited the campus cafe. His dark eyes met hers, and Rey never realized she'd miss his eyebrow lifting in contempt. Because he didn't do that, and only blinked at her before looking back ahead of him. Never looking back.

Jeez. What a total _asshole_.

.

Rey was predictably staying the summer at campus, and so was Finn, so at least it wouldn't be as lonely as the winter and spring break had been. The first perk was snagging some easy jobs for the graduation ceremony. It was more than a little overwhelming to realize they, too, would be standing up there in only three more years.

Finn's was as friendly as ever he passed out pamphlets, smile wide and forever charming. Rey tried to emanate him, but found it was too tiring. She went for nods and quiet 'welcome's every now and again.

The ceremony started first with all the students walking into their alphabetically-assigned seating. The professors followed, who'd stood outside the tent to first welcome their students to this ending ceremony. Rey noted the bold red and thin streaks of blue that accented Professor Ren's garb. She knew the colors were based off the universities the professors had themselves graduated from, and she noted to look it up later.

The ceremony wasn't really that exciting, but the way Finn squirmed and dreamed made it exciting. Her fellow nineteen-year-old was unsure about his major, unlike her. He still had plenty of time, and Rey looked forward to the day he would chose. Without a doubt Finn would be the hardest worker of that major.

The students filed out first, and again the professors before the audience. Rey's eyes found the red, blue and black again, but when she looked up, she saw that Professor Ren was looking directly at her already.

He glanced away fast, and Rey could tell even from this distance that he was grinding his teeth.

She almost felt bad for him, getting so caught up in his hate and pride that he couldn't see it was her fault more than his. It wasn't that he wasn't good enough for her, it was just that Rey wasn't going to turn for him. No matter how good, now rewarding it was to have him as an instructor.

She just hoped that one day he'd forgive her, and the larger picture of himself. If he didn't soon, she was worried she'd leave a scar from punching him so hard to get his head on.

.

The cafe was open a select few hours everyday now that it was summer, so Rey usually took the opportunity to grab food. Finn picked up more shifts, but it wasn't as easy as getting her free food as coffee. At least in the summer they had discounts, and Rey had more money through taking on more campus jobs in her free time.

It was relaxing. To get away from the imposing library, or the gym with treadmills to run on and bags to kick. Here it was peaceful with the small smattering of summer-stay students and professors in their casual, light summer clothes.

Rey automatically looked up from her novel to see two figures come in. They were holding hands, and despite the gray hair, they looked youthful and happy. Like they could outshine any of the numerous couples that strutted around campus.

They went to the counter to order, and Rey reminded herself it was rude to stare.

It was only a few minutes later when she heard a throat clearing above her, and she turned up to see the same couple. They were attractive this close up, despite their age, and already Rey was imagining a fairytale with the two of them. Despite the man's crooked grin, he probably needed saving more often than the woman.

"We were just wondering if you went here, dear," the woman asked, wrinkles at her eyes crinkling in a smile.

Rey felt the familiar pang of loneliness as she nodded, and she had to clear her throat before saying: "Yes, I just finished my first year here. It was wonderful."

"Oh, our son just finished his as well," the woman said, sitting at the opposite side of the booth and pulling the man down with her.

"Leia, she's reading," he said with a pointed nod to her book.

"Oh, it's alright. I don't mind company," Rey rushed to say, carefully putting her bookmark in and closing the tome.

"So unlike our son. He would've glared, and got up to move to another table," the woman, Leia, said with a chuckle and affectionate pat on the man's arm.

They looked so warm together, fit so effortlessly like a plate broke clean in two and just needing a little glue. Unlike the first pull, this one wasn't of loneliness but happiness. Happiness that at least in one instance here was a couple that were happy being themselves with the other.

"What's your son's name? I might've met him," Rey said, leaning forward eagerly.

"Well-"

" _What_ are you doing."

Rey jumped enough that her knees hit the bottom of the table with a solid crack. But even the flash of pain wasn't enough to deter her looking up and realizing she was right in recognizing that voice.

Because there was Professor Ren, looking scary in how eerily calm he was. His eyes didn't even blink as he stared down at her.

"I'm- I'm sorry?" Rey asked hesitantly, wincing at the stutter that was more from shock than his intimidation.

"Oh, stop being so mean to someone so nice," Leia said as she motioned for him to sit. "Your Dad and I drove all this way to see you again. And we just ordered you your favorite. So sit down."

"Why must we sit _here_ ," Professor Ren sulked.

The older man stood, and put his hands on his son's shoulders, forcing him down to sit by his mother. Than the man moved to sit beside Rey, making her scoot in and wonder if this was what it felt like to be suffocated. It was overpowering to be caught in familial drama for the first time.

When their food arrived, Leia scooted over a grilled cheese to Professor Ren.

.

" _What are you doing_."

Professor Ren, or 'Ben' (and wasn't that a _weird_ name when put together – like a Dr. Seuss character) whispered as they walked through the campus. Leia and Han, as Rey had learned his name as well, walked ahead. Leia's arm was tucked in her husbands, and they looked peaceful despite how effortlessly they bickered.

" _They_ came up to _me_! I had no idea they were your parents. I would've left you alone," Rey was quick to say. "I know how much you hate me."

"I don't _hate_ you. You're not an idiot."

"Thanks," Rey muttered, kicking a pebble and wishing she was wearing something nicer than old jean shorts and a simple white t-shirt. Professor Ren was still wearing black slacks, but at least his collared shirt had short sleeves.

They walked in silence, and Rey chanced a glance up. Just like at the graduation, he was already looking at her, and he glanced away once their eyes met.

"I'm sorry, you know. About before. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"You didn't hurt my-"

"Your pride then. Ego. _Whatever_."

Rey huffed as she kicked another pebble, this time hard enough to bounce off a trunk and nearly hit a squirrel. The furry creature jumped at the sudden attack and sprinted for the nearest tree to climb.

They continued walking through the main green and around for a few more minutes, until Rey said she needed to prepare for her job at the kitchen. It was half a lie, as she didn't need to be there for another hour, and it only took her five minutes to walk there. There was no uniform for washing dishes.

Leia and Han gave her a warm goodbye, and Professor Ren sighed before nodding in parting.

.

Rey attempted to avoid the cafe as much as possible, truly not wanting to bring the professor's wrath down on her, but it was inescapable that some mornings she needed a black coffee, or maybe a chai latte as a treat if she had a good time on her morning run.

And summer was long at two and a half months: it was inevitable that she'd meet him again.

This time the room was full from an alumni meeting, and Rey waited impatiently for her drink so she could get out of the crowded space. She looked up to see Professor Ren waiting in line. He was the antithesis of a lighthouse in his dark garb but tall persona, attractive and strong in a sea of old people.

Rey bit her tongue at that specific adjective: it would lead nowhere good at all. But it was simply an observation, a statement of thoughts. He was aesthetically pleasing, and it would only be false to deny it.

Rey was so heavy in her thoughts on what constituted opinion and fact that she didn't immediately see the professor of her thoughts come to stand beside her. It took him clearing his throat loudly, twice, for her to jump and look up.

"Good morning, Professor Ren."

He nodded, and turned back to waiting for his drink. No doubt black coffee. Again.

Rey chanced a glance and dammit, why did he have to have such a striking profile? Wasn't there regulations on hair for the professors, to not let it grow so long and luscious?

"How goes your, ur, book?"

He turned to look down at her, eyebrow once again raised, and Rey had to mentally scream, physically will, her body to not turn red all over. How was it that he made her feel like a child instead of a capable, young adult?

"It's become difficult to pin-point a thesis. At least the researching phase is finished. Almost."

"It's never truly finished, is it?" Rey asked with a shaky chuckle.

Professor Ren didn't necessarily smile, but his shoulders relaxed, and his eyebrow finally dropped down to a normal level.

Rey opened her mouth, to offer that maybe she could read it and help, but thankfully her drink was called to be picked up. As she added honey into her latte, she thought the interruption a blessing. Why would a professor want some snotty girl looking over his book? He had colleagues, students who were actually majoring in history instead of some engineering upstart.

"Summer is coming to a close soon."

Rey nearly dropped the plastic honey bear, but a large hand came up to help her catch it. His fingers were long, and dwarfed her hand to an almost comical level.

"You can come read it, if you'd like."

She risked looking up, and found that there was something other than distain and annoyance in his dark eyes. There was something almost friendly, and Rey sucked in a shallow breath of shock.

"I'd like that."

"I'll be in my office until eight tonight," Professor Ren said as he retracted his hand. It twitched as his side, before he moved it to straighten his already impeccable collared shirt.

Rey nodded dumbly, and that barista really had a knack for timing, as it was his turn for his drink to be called.

.

Rey ended up going to his office only an hour later. She found herself unable to focus on anything, and she'd already worked out today. What was the point of reading any old novel when she could be reading Professor Ren's book.

She could just imagine him being as secretive about his work as with everything else in his life, so it was exhilarating to realize she was being allowed such a rare glimpse.

Rey didn't even have to knock; he looked up when she appeared at his open doorway. He stood and waved her in, and then moved behind her to close the door. Unlike that first day at class, it felt more like a welcome than a threat at shutting off the outside world.

He didn't say anything as he simply waved to the massive stack of paper at one of the chairs. Rey nodded silently as well, and sat down. She pulled the papers into her lap, and jumped when he offered her a pen.

"I don't-"

"You were a good student, with a level head and smart connections. You may have insights."

Rey couldn't hold back the blush this time, and she ducked her head to at least try to hide it. She nodded, and accepted the blue pen he offered her.

They sat in silence, and Rey found it easier to breathe as the minutes passed. Sometimes she would scribble something in the text, the blue stark in contrast against his own red marks. It was oddly endearing, to see he attacked himself as viciously as his students on his writing.

The hours went by, and Rey took a break to rub her eyes. When she arched her back to stretch, her stomach gave a great rumble.

Rey looked to see Ren was already watching her, eyes crinkling at the edges almost like amusement.

When they left, Rey jumped to realize it was already dark. The cafe would obviously be closed, but Professor was already walking away at a quick pace Rey struggled to catch up on.

They arrived only a few minutes later outside of what appeared to be a thai restaurant, and he looked to her before shrugging. It looked like he was almost waiting for her confirmation that this was alright.

"I love spicy food," Rey blurted out.

He turned away, cutting Rey's view away from what she thought might be a smile.

They were immediately seated, and the waiter didn't even bother giving Professor Ren a menu. Rey focused on looking through the options, watching as the waiter put a beer down. She ordered without thinking much of it; she hadn't had a chance to grow up picky over food.

Rey fiddled with her napkin, looking up to see that Professor Ren was already studying her. It should be unnerving, how she always caught him staring at her.

"Are you- are you allowed to be out with me. Like this? You won't get fired, right?"

There was definitely something almost like a smile as he lifted the bottle to his mouth and took a long pull; it was surreal to watch such a strict teacher drink beer out of a bottle of all things. Rey would have expected a glass, if anything.

"You're not my advisee, and currently aren't in any of my classes," he said in a drawl as he began peeling the label off the bear bottle. "And you can call me Kylo if it makes you feel easier."

"Good to know," Rey said softly, wondering if that was some sort of nickname.

She was surprised when he looked back up to her, eyes positively _glowing_.

.

Rey didn't see Professor Ren- or Kylo, as she'd been allowed the honor of calling him – at the cafe anymore. She already had a free pass to go to his office whenever she wanted.

He was there an eerie amount of time. She supposed it made sense, what with classes resuming in only two weeks now. Finn was excited to have Poe back, and excited to get back to classes. Rey was the same, but to a degree. She enjoyed the time off to fiddle with junkyard engines and catch up on sleep.

She finished reading the first transcript of his book the second day she came back. She went back a few days after, to ask how her notes had fared with him.

"They'll be of some use."

It was arguably the nicest thing he'd ever said to her.

It was three days before classes were staring up again, and she got another email from him. Rey went as asked, and ended up spending another some hours in his office. He'd revised his book and had asked for another read through. She asked him about his colleagues, and he'd snorted before pushing the pages at her again. There was marginally less red on these pages, and even less blue once she was done.

They went to the thai place again, and Rey ordered something new while he got the same.

"So you're an engineering student," Professor Ren said once their plates were cleared. He had a take-out container before him while Rey had once again demolished everything on her plate without problem.

"Yes," Rey answered, wondering where this line of questioning would be going to.

"How did you manage to outsmart actual history majors, then?" he asked, eyes gleaming bright in the candlelight.

"I'm not very good with writing," Rey admitted, interlocking her fingers on the table. "I just had to work harder. Rewrite, and revise, and the tutors I had were equal parts critical and supportive."

He hummed, and ran a hand through his hair. Rey suddenly felt hungry again.

"Too bad you're not a major. You'd be a brilliant TA if you don't shy away from hard work."

Rey didn't know what to say to that, so she remained silent. They waved their parting ways when they returned to campus: her to the dorms and him to his car. Rey watched him go, and wondered where he lived. What his house was like- or did he only have an apartment?

He didn't seem like the person to have a dog. Maybe a cat? A snake seemed like the best guess.

She lied awake that night, and wondered just what made the newest, youngest professor on campus so engaging when he was really nothing more than a shadow person.

.

When the beginning of the next semester started, Rey was still a little groggy from summer overload. And mostly because when Poe had returned, he'd brought with him way too much whiskey to be legal. It had left Rey, who barely drank, with a fuzzy head and queasy stomach.

She managed to get to all her classes alright, considering Finn had apparently thrown up twice in the bushes while getting to his sculpture class. ("What a true art kid," Poe would laugh later. Completely unaffected, the donkey.)

The following days were easier, even with the warmth of summer receding into fall. The leaves were changing, and just like last year, Rey marveled in the seasons. Her town before had been barren and hot all the time; here at least there were trees and change.

At times she spotted Professor Ren across the green as she read outside, or ordering coffee to go from the cafe. Twice now he'd met her eye and nodded before going on his way. As if he hadn't given the offer to call him by his first name. As if she hadn't spent time in his office going over his work in a comforting silence. As if they hadn't eaten thai together and then had split checks both times.

Rey met Luke Skywalker in an intermediate class, and immediately she took to him. Luke was amazing in how he could work not _against_ but _with_ machines, trusting and caring for them even if he'd lost a hand to one in a mishap from his youth.

She asked him to be her advisor in the second week, and he accepted with an open smile that his scruffy beard did nothing to diminish.

They decide to have lunch at the cafe one day, so Luke (as he'd argued she call him) could go over her schedule and plan for the next two trimesters, and then the bigger picture of her junior and senior years. They had their heads together, half-eaten paninis forgotten, when Rey felt eyes on her and looked up to see Professor Ren standing before them.

"Ah, good afternoon, Ben," Luke said with nod.

For a terrifying moment Rey thought on how she'd had his name wrong this entire time. Sure, she'd never actually addressed Professor Ren so informally, but to think she had thought incorrectly. And then her brain skidded back to Leia and Han, and how she'd called him the same-

"It's _Kylo_ , Uncle," the younger professor said, hands crossing behind his back. He turned to Rey then, eyes dark and intense as he stated: "So you've found your advisor I take it?"

Her head was still catching up on what exactly his name was, so it took a moment longer than necessary to nod in agreement.

He opened his mouth, eyes narrowed, before he changed his mind and turned with a flick of his blazer.

Rey watched him go, feeling the frown on her face, before Luke cleared his throat. She turned to him with wide eyes, and he rose his left eyebrow in such a strikingly similar way Rey just _had_ to laugh.

.

"Should I know about any other family of yours lurking in the shadows? So I don't keep having lunch with them at the cafe?"

Professor Ren looked up, pushing the fringe of his forehead out of his eyes. He didn't raise an eyebrow in confusion, and like other times before, stood to close the door behind him. Unlike other times before, he put a hand to her lower back and steered her into a chair.

"It's unlikely," he finally said as he went to his desk, but didn't sit. Instead he leaned against the wooden edge of it, hip edging some books more into the middle to make room.

Rey looked up at him, and tried to think of something to say that wasn't too revealing or stupid. But it was hard, when he was staring at her like a text to be deconstructed for his own purposes. He barely blinked, and Rey found herself the one letting in and looking out the window like a coward.

"Skywalker will see you well," he finally said, crossing his arms and making the fabric of his long-sleeve stretch. "He's more suited for that."

Rey looked down at her hands, stuffed them in her hoodie's pocket, took them out. Fiddled with the strands of her hair that always seemed to come loose right above her ears.

"Is there something you wanted?"

His voice was low, too near, and suddenly Rey felt more than just overwhelmed. So she stood with a start, legs of the chair scraping on the ground. Professor Ren's eyes didn't widen, or show shock, but they did finally blink.

"I'm probably wasting your time. I should-"

Rey turned to go, and when her hand touched the doorknob, another hand came to rest above her shoulder. She shivered: she could feel the heat from his body as he cornered her. It must be all that black, even with autumn's chill.

In what might have been the bravest thing of Rey's life, she turned, pressing her body against the door. He was looking down at her, hair framing his face and cheekbones pronounced with the light from the window behind his head. Rey straightened her back, refusing to back down, eyes steady as they looked into his.

He must've found the approval he was looking for, because he angled down, until his lips were pressed flush against hers. Rey didn't even have time to press back when he retracted, his eyes opening to take in her reaction.

Rey gave a shiver, and a tentative smile and step forward- and then he was truly kissing her. The hand that had been at the door was now at her hip, fingers burying into her skin like there was wealth to be found under the skin. The other was at the back of her head, angling her head so he didn't have to lean so far down.

Rey had recently turned twenty, but still she had barely any experience with kissing. She had a few when she was but a child, but even coming to college she had other important factors in her mind.

Yet Kylo seemed just as inexperienced, their lips sliding and pulling apart in their haste to find each other. Slowly, as his fingers tugged at her hair and she pulled at his tie, they found a rhythm that had Rey arching into his body and wanting _more_.

He pulled away, resting his forehead against her shoulder, so Rey took the opportunity to plant light kisses at the tense lines of his neck. He shivered, and turned his head so his nose ran along Rey's own neck.

"Rey," he whispered, like it was prayer and they weren't in a dingy little office.

She swallowed, wanted to say something, but like so many times before: words weren't her thing. That was his, the academic with the papers and complex theories on recycled texts.

But Kylo wasn't interested in words moments later, as he took the hand away from her back. She frowned at the lack of content, and then understood when she pushed her against the door. Stuck between two hard places indeed- especially what was pressing incessantly at her hip-

Rey yelped in shock when Kylo effortlessly lifted her up, her back scratching against the door but the thick cotton of her hoodie cushioning it. She wrapped her legs around his waist easily, and now their different in height wasn't as much of a problem.

And apparently it wasn't a problem for Kylo to carry her to his desk, where Rey flexed her legs tight around him, so he could use a hand to throw books off the table. There was a crash, no doubt the lamp's lightbulb shattering, but that wouldn't be uncommon to his tantrums.

Rey's legs refused to let Kylo go as he draped her over the desk, her back not giving much time to straighten on the hard wood surface as she arched again into his body.

When he put a hand to her beige shorts, threatening to pull them down, Rey stiffened and pulled away from their newest kiss. Kylo did the same, opening hazed eyes to blink down at her.

"I- uh- can we not do that here? It's just- I've never really-"

Her stumbling words somehow managed to get through to him, and Kylo blinked rapidly before pulling away from her. His hands framed either side of her head, and he looked down at her with his chest expanding and retracting in large gulps of air.

"Of course," he said, voice rough.

Rey reached up, ran a hand down the side of his face, and then pulled at his hair like reigns to bring his face down to hers for a featherlight kiss like their first one.

"I get carried away," Kylo mumbled, eyes closed.

Rey kept her eyes open, focusing on memorizing his face in this moment. So open with new emotions, so seemingly scared.

"Do you have an apartment or house?"

Kylo opened his eyes at that, eyebrows furrowing before saying: "House."

Rey blinked, waiting for him to make the connection. So when he didn't, she huffed and pushed at his chest to get him off of her so she could get off his desk.

"Would you mind giving me a tour of it?"

That had his eyes lighting up, and he hurried to grab his coat. He didn't even spare a glance to the mess littering the floor in contrast to the smooth, uncluttered surface of the desk. Rey glanced down and noted the lamp had indeed broken, but at least his laptop seemed perfectly fine.

They didn't hold hands as they walked across campus, and then to his car.

.

Rey used some of the valuable data on her phone to look up 'professor-student relations' on the college's website. Kylo was still dead to the world around him, undignified while sleeping as his limbs sprawled over almost the entire bed.

And he'd been right: it was stated explicitly that unless the student was underage, the professor's advisee, or currently registered in one of their classes, there was no regulations against it.

Sure, Finn and Poe might be a little shocked and appalled at the turn of events. But it wasn't like Rey had any concerned parents, worrying of how her daughter had been seduced and taken away from her light, easy life as a student.

Then again, Kylo's parents might have something against them. Luke might have something against them.

"You're thinking too hard."

Rey turned her head on the pillow, and watched in wonderment as Kylo looked at her with sleep-addled eyes.

"You press your lips together when you're over thinking things," Kylo said as he retracted one of his hands from hanging over her waist and the bed. He moved it to her back, turning her figure to face him.

Rey huffed at the coddling, never thinking Kylo was one for being overly affectionate. But he was always so busy telling the world to fuck off; he was probably overjoyed at the contact. Just didn't want to say anything on the matter.

"I was thinking about what to order at the thai place today."

Kylo hummed, and rubbed his head further into the pillow. He seemed so at ease now, so different from his ram-rod stance he usually held in class, or even when he sat behind his desk. Now his hair was a mess of waves and fuzz, and Rey looked at the spattering of moles across his arms and shoulders.

She reached a hand forward, moving a finger from one dark spot to the other. She could make constellations on his skin. A whole new sky for her to explore.

Kylo didn't smile at her touch, but he sighed and closed his eyes and didn't snap at her.

.

Rey had never had a boyfriend before, so it was a little tricky to get her life in order when she had to think of Kylo as well.

It was agreed that they would go out for thai even Tuesday (Kylo had winced at the alliteration while Rey had only giggled at her joke); she would bike over every Sunday afternoon when she was done with her job. They'd have sex in the late afternoon light, watch a movie, order in pizza. Sometimes, if Kylo was in a rare good mood, he'd cook wonderfully complex dishes for her. That above all else made her want to cry: how much effort he put into a simple dish just for her.

On Wednesdays she brought them lunch to his office. On Thursday afternoons she'd come and do homework while he worked further on his book.

Considering how Kylo didn't have friends in the faculty or students (other than Hux, apparently his rival in the history department that Rey thought was more like a frenemy), so people picked up on their buddy system, or as others called it their budding relationship. They never held hands, and they never kissed in public, so it was understandable people only thought they had an unlikely friendship. Not that Rey cared about what others thought of them. Kylo had rubbed off enough on her to fully believe in that.

Finn and Poe were the only ones Rey had thought to tell: there was no one else she really felt close enough to understand. Luke had given a glance to the two of them one day, and then shrugged and smiled like he knew. 

(Kylo said to wait to tell his parents. Rey could tell he was being cowardly, but she let him get away with it.)

Obviously Kylo didn't give a fuck. He was already acclimated to ridicule being such a young professor. They said he was only here because of his uncle. What was another thing for them to ridicule him over?

"They're just simpletons," he'd mumbled once, with Rey's forehead pressed against his chest and feeling his heartbeat in her head.

Kylo still had red under his eyes. Still drank too much coffee. Still never talked much, or explained exactly what they were or what he wanted out of it. And he still threw mugs to shatter against walls when he got angry at the world, or more likely himself.

But Rey was happy with him. Happy that there was another aspect she'd found of herself, this time not in a place. But in a person.

 

 

FIN

 

 

 


End file.
